Great Pyrenees
The Breed
AKA the Pyrenees Mountain Dog
A very ancient breed hailing from the Pyrenees Mountains on the border between Spain and France, our ancestors bred these dogs to guard their flocks of sheep and goats from bears, wolves, coyotes, and other predators. Don't just take our word, check out the link above for a very good write-up.
The first rule of owning a Great Pyrenees: do NOT underestimate them
This breed is highly intelligent and independent. To the right, you will see our Denali just after an encounter that I think she won't repeat again. I pulled 25 quills from her nose while my brother-in-law and my three nephews (tried) to hold her in place. After about two hours, I had to give up on the 26th quill as she had decided that she had had enough and was throwing us around. 110 pounds of solid muscle meant that she could overpower and outwit two fully grown men and three teenagers, one of which is on our high school wrestling team.This is also not a breed that you can contain very easily if they don't want to be contained. Like cats, if they can get their head through, the rest of their body can and will follow. Chain link fencing MUST have the cable through the bottom stretched tight or they will simply get under it and bend the links up. The fortunate thing is they aren't prone to jumping over obstacles, but what they can get under or through will simply amaze you.
The second rule of owning a Great Pyrenees: They get big....quick
This breed is considered a giant breed by the AKC for good reason. To the left, you will see our largest GP, Denali, who weighs just over 113 lbs probably weighed somewhere close to 11.5 lbs at 8 weeks. For comparison, our 13 year old Pekinese only weighs 7.5 lbs.
Remember though, that just like humans, dogs will attain their weight in their own way at their own pace, so just because they are predicted to be on the low side, doesn’t mean that will remain to be true, and vice-versa. While most of the weight they gain is within 18 months, a GP may still be gaining weight at up to 3 years of age! AKC lists the average weight for an adult female between 85-100 lbs while a male averages 100-140 lbs.
One of the issues that the charts to the left have is they are estimates based on averages across all breeds and are static, thus the need to include both the large and giant breed charts. To get a more accurate picture, weight calculators can get a bit closer to reality, and there are several out there. Dog-care-Knowledge has one not based on gender and only on breed size. The Goody Pet is another that takes both specific breed and gender into the estimation. We have found these calculators (particularly the Goody Pet one) to be more useful than the charts to the left.
*Images used without express permission of the copyright owner. Link to copyright holder: https://www.dog-care-knowledge.com/
**Weights in charts are estimates based on averages and may not reflect your individual dog’s growth curve
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